Jebal Hibran – Hail

Jebal Hibran is situated along the southern border of the sand dune desert of Nefud Al-Kebir, to the west of Hail. It is part of a number of sandstone formations showing many different shapes and forms caused by erosion of the relatively soft rock. 

Birding the Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment recently I came across two species I had not seen there previously at the site. One was Grey Wagtail with a couple of presumably passage birds, seen on the roadside edge feeding on insects and the other a juvenile Pied Cuckoo at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment below Raydah Village in one of the large wadis. This wadi area was also good for Grey-headed Kingfisher, African Grey Hornbill and Bruce’s Green Pigeon with up to ten of the first two species and a couple of the latter. Another good bird seen was a breeding pair of African Paradise Flycatcher with the female sitting on the nest with two newly hatched young and the male coming occasionally to feed her. The local family that owned the land showed us the nest but we did not stay long due to fear of disturbing the breeding birds, so not photos of the male were obtained. 

Pied Cuckoo

Grey Wagtail

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Bruce's Green Pigeon

African Grey Hornbill

Barzan Palace Towers – Hail

Barazan Palace Towers are part of the heritage of Hail and were built during the reign of Mohammed Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Ali about 1808 and are still in their original form. It was completed during the rule of Talal ibn Abdullah (1848–68) and consisted of three floors and covered an area of more than 300,000 square meters. The ground floor featured the reception halls, gardens, and kitchens. The first floor housed diplomatic guests, and the second floor was occupied by the royal family. Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the founder of the third Saudi Kingdom ordered the Palace destroyed after he had ousted the last Al-Rashid emir from power in 1921. Today only one tower remains standing in the middle of the city giving an idea of the size of this building before its destruction.

Birding Phil’s Fields - Sabya

Whilst looking for Harlequin Quail in Phil’s Fields, of which we found 18 birds, all females with the exception of two calling males we also saw a few other good species. These included specialties such as Zitting Cisticola and Singing Bush Lark which are probably easier to see at this location than anywhere else in the Kingdom. Good number of African Silverbill were located in the fields and nearby edges, often in small flocks and a few Arabian Babbler and Black Scrub Robin were seen on the field margins and surrounding scrub. White-throated Bee-eater were quite common with may juveniles seen both in flight and perched on the ground or small trees. The very high humidity and hot temperatures makes birding this area quite unpleasant but the species seen makes it a very worthwhile exercise.

White-throated Bee-eater

African Silverbill

African Silverbill

African Silverbill

Black Scrub Robin

Arabian Babbler

Al Qishlah Palace – Hail

Al Qishlah Palace was built during 1943 during the reign of King Abdulaziz as a military barracks. It was built with two stories from clay, stone and wood and has eight cylinder defence columns and two large gates at the south and east sides, measuring 142.8 x 141.2 meters with 8.5m high walls. It has a total of 142 rooms, all of which face the internal courtyard, as well as a mosque with an uncovered praying area and a basement.

Zitting Cisticola – Phil’s Fields

The Zitting Cisticola is an uncommon breeding resident in Saudi Arabia, where it is found mainly in the far southern Tihama, south of Abha. It usually occurs below 500 metres in hot, dry, open grasslands and crop fields. Phil’s Fields near Sabya is probably the best place to see the species as they are common and call continually. Due to their small size and active behavior they are very difficult to photograph but I luckily managed to get very close to one this visit and took my best photos so far of the species. Birds alight on tall grasses and sing occasionally but trying to get close enough to obtain decent photos is not easy. Birds can be seen in suitable habitat all the way south to the Yemen boarder near Malaki Dam Lake and Wadi Jewa.

A’Arif Fort – Hail

Thought to have been built during the 17^th century AD for the defence of the city of Hail, it is built on a hill with the same name in the centre of the city. Further additions and restorations have been made until it has assumed its current rectangular shape of approximately 40m x 11m in size. It had openings including watchtowers and windows (Turma) to be used by soldiers to sight any approaching hostile forces as well as a residential area, a mosque, baths, prayer places, toilets, warehouses and other facilities allowing citizens to live there for long periods. ​

Streaked Weavers nesting – Al Hair

A trip to the Al Hair river outside of Riyadh in late May resulted in us finding a nice colony of breeding Streaked Weavers. Freshly made nests were located with adult birds busy adding to them, with at least twenty nests found in a short visible area in the reed beds with up to 200 birds located. Streaked Weaver owe their origin to released or escaped captive birds with young heard in nests in July near Riyadh previously. This is one of the few areas where the species can be seen in Saudi Arabia and is the first time I have seen and photographed them in breeding plumage. It is very hot at this time of year, in this area, so arriving at sunrise is advisable to get the best light for photography as well as cooler temperatures is advisable. Breeding birds have been seen in the Eastern Province at the sewage lagoon of the King Fahd International Airport, 29 April 1989. Birds build nests here until they were destroyed by reed cutting machines and as far as I am aware have not nested again in the Eastern Province.

Old Deira Al Ghat Heritage Village

Old Deira Al Ghat Heritage Village is one of the largest traditional villages of Saudi Arabia in the Najdi style. It is located on the northern bank of the Wadi Al-Ghat and stretches over 1.5 kilometers, with the town fed by rain water running down the nearby the Tuwaiq escarpment. The heritage village has a museum where prehistoric tools show to place has been inhabited for millennia. Testimony to human efforts to benefit from the water resources are the dams and wells that are still visible. Places of particular interest are Ad-Deira Mosque and ancient water well, the old village, Mosque Ahmad Al Sidiri as well as Amara Palace which houses the Ghat Museum. The Al-Oshaza Mosque is the oldest mosque in Al-Ghat dating back to the fifteenth centaury AD.